Wednesday 18 April 2012

Body image.

Oh dear, Google seems to have changed the format of this now and the whole site seems to be unfamiliar.   Still, I will press on and hope that it all comes out on the screen in the end.

In some countries in the world - India springs to mind immediately - to be very thin is probably a sign of hunger and/or poor diet.   The aim there is to put a bit of flesh on the bones.

When my mother was a young woman in the 1920's she wore a tight corset so that she had a slim waist.   As she aged she began to put on weight but I don't remember either her nor anyone else referring to her as being
overweight.   Anyone of her size was usually referred to as 'bonny' in our part of Lincolnshire (and the name
applies to Yorkshire as well).   As she went into her eighties, mainly I suspect because she ate much less, she
began to lose weight and finally was a thin old lady.

What is this obsession with body image these days?   To what do we owe it?   Is it the cult of the movie stars,
the fashion magazines and the like?   Whatever the reason various fad diets seem to have sprung up and everyone seems to be trying to lose weight.

It is one thing to lose weight because of a medical problem (I lost two and a half stone in order to reduce my blood pressure - and it worked), but to frantically try to diet for cosmetic reasons has become altogether too silly for words.

The latest fad in the drive to lose weight for one's wedding (apparently the average bride to be would like to shed 20lbs for her wedding day) is to have a tube poked up your nose.   This is called the KE diet and results in shedding 20lbs in ten days.  The women are fed a slow-drip blend of protein, fat and water through the tube direct into the stomach (800 calories a day).   They say the woman can lead a normal life while all this is going on - normal with a tube sticking out of your nose?   Side effects are constipation, bad breath and dizziness!   Have I mentioned cost?   Just under a thousand pounds for the ten day treatment.   But then, when I think of what people spend on their weddings these days I suppose that is chicken feed.


15 comments:

MorningAJ said...

Don't get me started on body image. I know I've just gone through the wringer to have my teeth sorted out - but it was because I had a major structural failure and I was going to have to have a lot of work done anyway. I figured I might as well come out of it with a nice smile.

But I draw the line at plastic surgery, botox (for cruelty reasons), excessive dieting, etc.

The more people strive for 'perfection' the less some others will fit into society. Not everyone can be 'put right' through surgery and all the rest and those people are becoming increasingly marginalised.

Oops - better get off my soap box now...........

Pondside said...

Amen and Amen again. The cult of 'thin' has just gone too far when every week the newspaper carries an article on keeping children thin. The dentist does Botox now and one is made to feel slightly odd not to want an injection or two. Why wouldn't one want to look one's best? It's madness.

Heather said...

The KE diet sounds horrendous and I'm sure it can't be good for anyone. I could do with losing a couple of stone but wouldn't resort to those methods and would rather lose weight gradually.
Not long ago we were watching a TV programme about the Palladium Theatre and saw a clip of the Tiller Girls. My husband said 'they look a bit hefty'! I thought they had lovely feminine bodies but those were the days when women could have rounded figures and didn't have to become stick insects! It's all getting rather ridiculous.

MorningAJ said...

For Pondside... Want a reason why you wouldn't want to 'look your best'? Because of the cruelty involved in producing Botox. See here.

Elizabeth said...

Dearie me, this is a vexed subject!
I think it is a great deal better not to think about weight too much or else it ends up making you fatter!
However, I am horrified by the number of morbidly obese children in the US who are in effect crippled and rendered unable to play because they are so damn fat.
The parents' fault.
Moderation in all things blah blah.

Yes, layout has become a horrible problem on blogs!

Rachel Phillips said...

We are probably talking obese here, overweight, fat. A 20lb loss would still not make a size 12. The problem is people getting fatter all the time. I was watching a programme about the 1970s the other night and everybody was slim.

Anonymous said...

The KE thing sounds disgusting. As long as I look neat and tidy I don;t worry about anything else.

Mo said...

Wasn't Marilyn Monroe a size 16? Then again, they keep messing with sizes too....

John Going Gently said...

my blood pressure has reduced dramatically Pat after losing 24 lbs.....and I now can get into old pants!!!!!!!!
another half 11 lbs to go for me!!!

Bovey Belle said...

I think that sort of dieting with a tube up your nose is complete and utter madness. Losing 20 lb before your wedding is along the lines of having your pre-baby figure within a month of giving birth. These celebs have a lot to answer for. The "being slim" bit seemed to have started with Twiggy and women haven't been "allowed" to be curvy since.

I could do with losing a couple of stone too. Happy to exercise it away but I would need to spend 24 hours a day on a giant hampster-wheel!!! I keep reasonably fit, but after a year on the sofa in 2011 with repeated chest infections, it takes some getting back from.

Strangely, I can remember being stick thin in my teens and yet wearing a GIRDLE (they were all the rage) . . . Now when I really need one I wouldn't be seen dead in one!

Eryl said...

The KE diet sounds ghastly, but then the wedding industry is hugely exploitative. As are the beauty and diet industries, they all play on our insecurities, if we let them.

H said...

They would have to pay ME if they wanted to stick a tube up my nose!

So much in advertising and the media gives us false images of ourselves and how we should be. We should be building up self esteem in people, not making them feel inadequate.

Don't get me started on the amount of money people spend on weddings!!

Anonymous said...

Overheard two middle-aged women in the shops talking about this yesterday as they shuddered at the thought.
I wonder what if it catches on big-time and world-wide people are all walking around with tubes up their noses trying not to inflict their bad breath on each other. Or tubed-nosed audience members at comedy festivals "I laughed so hard I dislodged me tube!!...".
There's always the joke -"What did one disgruntled KE dieter say to the other KE dieter..."What's got up YOUR nose!".
All too silly. I like those photos of really fat bride and grooms who you know damn well are going to enjoy the food laid on at the reception big time!!
I always thought a nose was for smelling the roses. What's wrong with people.

ArcticFox said...

Hello - first time caller!!
You know what's quite obvious about these issues... is that we seem to be only interested in a "quick fix" approach - is it any wonder that beneath all this "body image" tagline, we are becoming a people of obesity... our diets contain too many processed ingredients (hydrogenated fat anyone?) and rather than change our lifestyles for a more healthy one - let's face it, the manual tasks we used to do are long gone (grandma's dolly tub anyone?) - so to prepare for a wedding, let's take it down to ten days (our lives are just SO busy we can't possibly take longer, but we DO still have time for facebook??) - prepare for a night out?? Botox!! Instant gratification!!
So, it pains me - we love fast food, quick fixes.... as long as the photograph on the day shows you looking positively lovely, then it doesn't matter what you look like tomorrow!!
It would be a lot cheaper to just photoshop the wedding pics and would take a lot LESS effort.... hang on, I might have an idea.....

The Weaver of Grass said...

Golly, this certainly got you all started on hobby horses didn't it. I think there must be some correlation between bloggers and believers that ody image is a load of nonsense. Thanks for joining in.